Spoilers ahead for the first two episodes of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 16.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is officially back on FXX after a break of nearly a year and a half, and the whole gang returned to Paddy’s Pub for their usual dysfunction and shenanigans. The comedy hit the airwaves in the 2023 TV premiere schedule with two back-to-back episodes, and while it’s still too early to say where Season 16 will place in the ranking of every Always Sunny season, I’ve already gotten plenty of laughs, and two big reveals left me hoping for some serious bloopers to be released.
The back-to-back episodes to begin Season 16 weren’t actually connected as a two-parter, but “The Gang Inflates” followed by “Frank Shoots Every Member Of The Gang” made for a fun hour of television. So, read on for the biggest reveals and why I was already thinking about a future gag reel!
Charlie’s Apartment Has A Secret Room (And Bathroom!)
Charlie’s apartment is arguably the most iconic location of IASIP other than Paddy’s Pub, and longtime fans know that there have been some unexplained and unopened doors in what appeared to be his one-room unit. Frank, who has been living with Charlie since Season 2, discovered in “The Gang Inflates” that not only have they had a bathroom all along, but there’s a whole bedroom, and Charlie just doesn’t use them because they make the apartment feel too big. All he wanted to do was pitch Frank on his business idea, while Frank instead invested in Mac and Dennis’ inflatable furniture scheme.
Honestly, I hope I’m not the only one who was imagining bloopers that must have happened with Danny DeVito, Rob McElhenney, and Glenn Howerton balancing on inflatable furniture during Frank’s business meeting with Mac and Dennis in the formerly secret room. Plus, the secret room reveal indirectly led to Charlie finally getting to pitch his genius business idea… of hoarding Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle pies from 1991, to the disgust of Dennis and Dee. And there have to be multiple takes of Charlie Day eating that green pie and trying to keep a straight face, right?
Mac’s Uncle Is Donald McDonald
Mac and Charlie teamed up with their always hilarious moms in “Frank Shoots Every Member Of The Gang” while trying to find their legacies, which for Mac was a series of letters written by his grandfather and for Charlie was a jar of family teeth. While one of my biggest laughs of the episode was Charlie not realizing that he’d turned 40 years ago, and the introduction of his sisters paid off on a mention from early in the show, Mac meeting up with his uncle – who is of course named Donald McDonald – was a highlight.
Uncle Donald spent the entire meeting dropping hints that he could be Mac’s dream father figure, with an incredulous Charlie trying to point out that he was everything that Mac had ever wanted, which is saying a lot considering his love for Chase Utley… and I have a hard time imagining that the cast got through the scene with Mac, Charlie, the moms (who are among the best of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s side characters), and Donald McDonald without cracking up!
Now, the fact that I was spending breaks between scenes thinking about potential bloopers wasn’t because I thought the actors weren’t selling their performances, or because I felt like the show has run out of steam. I didn’t notice anybody breaking. No, I was thinking about a potential gag reel simply because the Always Sunny bloopers are always really, really, really funny, and the best IASIP episodes can be even better after seeing the outtakes.
I’ve been known to hit up YouTube to rewatch a gag reel or two to perk up my day every once in a while. Just try to let a bad mood linger when these stars, who are hilarious as their characters, are cracking themselves up in the middle of takes! Check out the Season 5 reel – a personal favorite of mine – for a blast to the past:
After enjoying the first two episodes, I really hope that there are some outtakes on the way to add even more laughs to how Season 16 kicked off. All in all, I’m optimistic about what the gang has in store for the rest of the season, and I’m hoping that the comedy revisits Donald McDonald and Charlie’s apartment having a secret room. Always Sunny isn’t exactly a serialized show, but I think both of those reveals are worth coming back to in later episodes.
For now, you can keep finding new episodes of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on FXX, and old episodes streaming with a Hulu subscription.